The Board came out of Closed Sessions and President Quigley led the Salute to the Flag.

Item 3 - Open Session and Report Out of Closed Session

President Quigley then reported that the following item was discussed in Closed Session regarding the Memorandum of Understanding between Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Zone 7 and the Northern California Public Sector Region, Local 1021 of the Service Employees International Union, CTW (SEIU) dated July 3, 2016 through June 29, 2019.

President Quigley read a resolution regarding salary adjustments and asked for a motion on the item.

Director Ramirez Holmes moved to approve the item, and Director Palmer seconded. There being no discussion or comment from the public on the matter, the motion passed by a voice vote of 7-0.

President Quigley then reported that the Board has been working on the purchase of an administration office building. David Aladjem, Legal Counsel, added that under the Brown Act, when an agency reaches an agreement to purchase a piece of property, you must report out if you are the last to sign. That is what has now happened, so the Board is reporting out to the public that Zone 7 is under contract to purchase this particular piece of property.

President Quigley introduced Jarnail Chahal, Engineering Manager, who gave a brief presentation regarding the purchase of the agency's administration building. The presentation outlined the current administrative office building lease, a summary of explored long-term options for an administrative office building, and the current status and terms of the purchase as a result of the Board's authorization at the January 18, 2017 board meeting. The purchase amount of the current administrative building is $9M which will terminate the current lease at close of escrow, which is expected within the next few days. The decision to purchase the current administrative office building will result in savings of $500K in moving expenses, $3.8M in additional lease payments, and $2.8M by avoiding future sinking fund contributions.

Director Ramirez Holmes thanked Staff for working so hard on this and helping the Agency save $7M. President Quigley concurred. He asked if there were any comments from the public. There were none.

David Raun, a resident on Foothill Rd., Pleasanton, thanked the Board for the work that was done to divert the waterway in the Arroyo de la Laguna. He urged the Board to respond to homeowner questions and to continue communicating with them during this process.

Matt Boughner, 3600 Collier Canyon Road at Collier Canyon Vineyards, Livermore, addressed the Board regarding the vineyard's concern over their application to replace an existing well. He stated that despite ongoing discussions with Zone 7 staff since December 2015, the replacement well permit has still not been approved. He urged the Board to place the matter on an upcoming agenda in order to give direction on how to proceed to resolve the outstanding concerns of both Collier Canyon Vineyard and Zone 7 staff.

Director Palmer moved that the minutes of the February 17, 2017 special board meeting be accepted and approved and Director Stevens seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by a voice vote of 7-0.

Director Palmer moved that the minutes of the March 15, 2017 regular board meeting be accepted and approved and Director Stevens seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by a voice vote of 7-0.

General Manager, Jill Duerig, announced that Steve Ellis, Associate Civil Engineer in the Facilities Engineering Section, was nominated as Employee of the Month. Steve was recommended by Lou Carella, Executive Vice President of Carollo Engineers, Inc., an external nomination, due to his involvement and time spent providing water education to some students from Antioch High School. Steve organized and provided a tour of the Mocho Groundwater Demineralization Plant, walking them through the engineering and operations, and apparently did a great job. The Board applauded Steve Ellis in absentia.

b. Congratulations to Retiree Caroline Abram

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Caroline Abram, Water Plant Operator III, who retired from the Agency on March 25, after over 11 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Caroline in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director Stevens seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-125 Congratulations to Retiree - Caroline Abram

c. Congratulations to Retiree Larry Akinsiku

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Larry Akinsiku, Assistant Engineer, who retired from the Agency on March 25, after over 27 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Larry in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-126 Congratulations to Retiree - Larry Akinsiku

d. Congratulations to Retiree Keith Braatenv
Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Keith Braaten, Water Plant Operator III, who retired from the Agency on April 1, after over 26 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Keith who was present at the meeting.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-127 Congratulations to Retiree - Keith Braaten

e. Congratulations to Retiree Gerald DeWitt

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Gerald DeWitt, Maintenance Manager, who retired from the Agency on April 1, after over 29 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Gerald in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-128 Congratulations to Retiree - Gerald DeWitt

f. Congratulations to Retiree Diana Gaines

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Diana Gaines, Senior Engineer, who retired from the Agency on March 23, after over 26 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Diana in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-129 Congratulations to Retiree - Diana Gaines

g. Congratulations to Retiree Wyman Hong

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Wyman Hong, Water Resources Technician II, who retired from the Agency on March 25, after over 35 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Wyman in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Resolution No. 17-130 Congratulations to Retiree - Wyman Hong

h. Congratulations to Retiree Kevin Hulme

Ms. Duerig extended congratulations to Kevin Hulme, Plant Maintenance Laborer, who retired from the Agency on April 1, after over 26 years of service. The Board recognized and applauded Kevin in absentia.

Director Palmer moved for approval of the resolution of appreciation and Director McGrail seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously.

Carol Mahoney, Manager of Integrated Water Resources, gave a brief verbal presentation on the status of the Lake Del Valle Storage Expansion Study and an overview of the Proposition 1 grant funding process which is unlikely given competitive projects such as Sites Reservoir, Los Vaqueros, and others. Staff does not support reallocating flood storage to water supply storage at Lake Del Valle.

Director Palmer reported that this was brought before the Water Resources Committee and after looking at the very thorough presentation at that time, the consensus was that it really seemed that the cost benefit analysis was such that going forward with anything more with Del Valle at this time would not be worth the Agency's time, effort or money. The committee was in favor of following the Staff recommendation and not continuing with looking at Lake Del Valle as a potential option at this time. She added that the committee agrees that we need storage. It is a question of where is the most reasonable place to put our resources at this time.

Director McGrail concurred. He urged his fellow Board members to work with Los Vaqueros instead as there is more land there that would be an easier fix to store water and it would make more sense financially.

Director Ramirez Holmes thanked Staff for their work on bringing these options before the Water Resources Committee and full Board. She added that the Agency went in with two other water agencies to explore all the options and now that the studies have been brought back, it is clear to see what is or is not possible and what the constraints are. It was a worthwhile investment to be able to explore those opportunities. Additionally, despite no action this evening, more meetings can be held in the future as other reports become available to help build upon our knowledge of those additional opportunities.

Director Greci also concurred, adding that as a member of the Water Resources Committee he heard the full report and the Del Valle option does not make good common sense financially for what little water it would add for our community.

President Quigley stressed the importance of getting DWR and East Bay Regional Parks District at the table on this issue and to tap into state bond funds for storage. He said that Lake Del Valle was built to hold 77,000 acre feet, almost twice the amount of what it currently holds.

President Quigley asked if there were any comments from the public. There were none.

Ms. Duerig presented the staff report summarizing the Request for Proposals which Staff issued in January of this year for Community Outreach, Water Education and Regional/Local Agency Coordination Support Services. The RFP was sent to thirty consulting firms and two proposals were received, one from The Stone Group, and the other from Morrison & Associates. The Staff recommendation is to authorize a contract with Morrison & Associates to continue for a three-year contract with two possible one-year extensions. The agency can maintain continuity on an excellent school program. Ms. Duerig introduced Liz Wilkins from Morrison & Associates who was in the audience to answer any questions.

Several board members expressed their support for this educational outreach program and their assistance with grant writing and stated that the work Morrison & Associates is extraordinarily beneficial to educating the community and increasing interaction between the public and Zone 7 which is critically important for that community partnership. They thanked Morrison & Associates for their work.

President Quigley asked if there were any comments from the public.

Liz Wilkins with Morrison & Associates addressed the Board saying that it has been an honor to represent Zone 7. She and the other teachers love teaching and appreciate the opportunity to conduct these outreach events.

Linda Kelly addressed the Board to advocate for better education of the bill-paying residents of Zone 7, including the "old folks" as she worded it.

Director Palmer moved to approve Item 10 and Director Stevens seconded the motion. The item was passed by a roll call vote of 7-0.

Osborn Solitei, Assistant General Manager, Finance, stated that the Staff recommendation is to continue these three items to the next board meeting.

Director Greci moved to table Items 12, 13 and 14 to the next regular board meeting in May, and Director Palmer seconded the motion. The continuance passed by a vote of 6-1, with Director Stevens voting no, so the items were tabled until the next regular meeting of the Board on May 17, 2017.

Ms. Duerig presented the staff report which highlighted two options for board consideration. Option A suggested scheduling a public hearing on May 17, 2017 to adopt an ordinance to increase board compensation. A Compensation and Benefit Survey comparison was attached to the staff report which summarized in detail the compensation and benefits offered to other board agencies. Option B suggested taking no action, i.e., to adopt no increase for fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19 and to conduct the next biennial review in 2019. There was some discussion on adopting a CPI adjustment for the next 10 years.

Director Palmer moved that the Board take no action on the item, and Director Ramirez Holmes seconded the motion. The no action alternative was passed by a voice vote of 6-1, with Director Stevens voting no.

Director Palmer said that she attended an ACWA webinar on March 29th regarding ACWA policy for the State Water Resources Control Board's proposed Unimpaired Flow Requirements. She handed out a copy of various slides from the webinar for discussion. The webinar stressed collaboration, real science, and comprehensive solutions. The term "functional flow" is a term that will be heard more and more in the future in terms of how the infrastructure works.

In response to Director Ramirez Holmes' question about how the public comment regarding the Collier Canyon well issue would be resolved, Mr. Aladjem responded that an application to the Agency would be acted upon by the General Manager. Should the applicant be dissatisfied with the response from the Agency on the permitting, the first level of appeal goes to the General Manager. An appeal has not been made at this time. The second level of appeal would go to the Water Resources Committee, whose decision is final. At this time, Collier Canyon has not been denied a permit. Under the terms of the county ordinance, the Agency cannot issue a permit until it knows that the well will not overdraft the basin.

Ms. Duerig reported that Zone 7 has updated its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) as mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The draft HMP has been posted to the Zone 7 website for public comment. A current HMP allows the Agency to reduce the costs associated with disaster response and recovery by implementing hazard mitigation strategies.